Tuesday, January 24, 2012
White House still pushing sweetheart deal for Bankster buddies
The holdout AG's are still standing firm but the White House is pushing hard, perhaps so the President can announce it in the State of the Union address as if it would be something to be proud of. So far there are a number of sticking points that just won't go away.
Mr. Miller said there were still too many unanswered questions about a possible settlement, like whether banks would be allowed to pass the costs of the settlement on to those who invested in mortgage-backed securities, particularly pension funds.Of course, unanswered questions can be ignored when making a sweetheart deal.
Then, he added, there was the issue of immunity from past misdeeds.
“Will this settlement really hold the banks accountable, or will the settlement be a get out of jail free card?” he said. “Has there been an independent investigation of the banks’ foreclosure practices? Will the penalties really make banks think twice about violating the laws in the future? There are more questions than answers at this point.”
Since the effort by the attorneys general to investigate foreclosure abuses was started in the fall of 2010, multiple deadlines to get a deal done have passed without an agreement. The new goal, negotiators said, is Feb. 6.
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